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Authors: Wendy Saunders
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stared into her glass for a moment before taking a sip. ‘I know you don’t know me right now and you have no reason to trust me, but I need you Sam. I need your help to find Theo and get back to the real world.’
‘I can’t help you,’ he frowned.
‘But…’
‘Look Lady…what’s your name?’
‘Olivia,’ she replied, ‘Olivia West.’
‘Well Olivia, Olivia West’ he mimicked, ‘I couldn’t help you even if I wanted to; the truth is I’m stuck here too.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘My father trapped me down here as a punishment and I can’t guarantee when he’ll decide to let me out.’
‘What did you do?’ Olivia asked curiously.
‘Nothing,’ he answered a little too quickly.
Olivia found herself studying him closely, his eyes were guarded and his spine stiff but there was something else in his expression. A sneaking suspicion had her mouth curving into a small smile.
‘Who was she?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Yes you do, nobody puts an expression like that on a guy’s face but a girl, so what’s her name.’
‘Look’ he snapped irritably, ‘I’m sorry but I can’t help you.’
She blinked and suddenly found herself sitting alone at the bar.
‘Well that went well’ she murmured, her gaze catching on the mirror behind the bar as she raised her glass and toasted her reflection.
Roni winced as she stubbed her toe painfully on the coffee table. Easing around it she hobbled towards the door and tripped over the pile of books she’d forgotten she’d stacked on the other side of the table. She hit the floor in an unladylike tangle of limbs and with a loud thud. Her elbow cracked sharply against the hard surface and she found herself seeing stars as she let loose an unintentional cry of pain.
‘Roni?’ Jake’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. ‘Are you okay?’
Groaning she took a deep breath, hauled herself off the floor and limped slowly to the door. He always seemed to have an unfortunate knack for being around when she was at her most ungraceful. As she swung the door open Jake stood watching her carefully. He had Olivia’s rather appealing puppy tucked under one arm, it’s blue leash dangling down to the floor. As soon as Beau saw her he scrambled against Jake trying to get to her, his tail wagging madly.
Jake’s gaze tracked slowly down her body, from her tank top and pajama pants to her bare feet and back up, until he met her eyes. She flushed under his intense appraisal. She thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, heat perhaps, but dismissed it. He didn’t see her like that, he only saw her as a kind of cute klutzy sister type. She really needed to stop obsessing about him she thought, as she took in his gorgeous face and blonde hair. It was starting to fall forward into his eyes a bit, he obviously needed a haircut and she found her fingers twitching slightly. Fighting the urge to reach out and push his hair back she swallowed and cleared her throat. It shouldn’t be awkward between them, over the past month or so they had settled into an easy friendship and she was finding lately that she enjoyed his company more and more. She didn’t want anything to change that, after all it wasn’t his fault she had a pathetic crush on him. She watched as his jaw clenched and his eyes involuntarily dipped to her chest again. It was only then she realized in horror that she wasn’t wearing a bra, dammit. Her face flushed pink and she automatically folded her arms over her chest.
‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ she muttered in mortification.
‘You called and left a message earlier,’ Jake explained after a moment.
‘Yes, but it was getting late so I assumed you’d just call me back tomorrow.’
‘Yeah,’ he replied ruefully, ‘sorry about that, I would have called you earlier. I got called out on an emergency, but…’ he held up a bag of takeout, ‘I brought dinner. If I know you, you’ve been so
‘I can’t help you,’ he frowned.
‘But…’
‘Look Lady…what’s your name?’
‘Olivia,’ she replied, ‘Olivia West.’
‘Well Olivia, Olivia West’ he mimicked, ‘I couldn’t help you even if I wanted to; the truth is I’m stuck here too.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘My father trapped me down here as a punishment and I can’t guarantee when he’ll decide to let me out.’
‘What did you do?’ Olivia asked curiously.
‘Nothing,’ he answered a little too quickly.
Olivia found herself studying him closely, his eyes were guarded and his spine stiff but there was something else in his expression. A sneaking suspicion had her mouth curving into a small smile.
‘Who was she?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Yes you do, nobody puts an expression like that on a guy’s face but a girl, so what’s her name.’
‘Look’ he snapped irritably, ‘I’m sorry but I can’t help you.’
She blinked and suddenly found herself sitting alone at the bar.
‘Well that went well’ she murmured, her gaze catching on the mirror behind the bar as she raised her glass and toasted her reflection.
Roni winced as she stubbed her toe painfully on the coffee table. Easing around it she hobbled towards the door and tripped over the pile of books she’d forgotten she’d stacked on the other side of the table. She hit the floor in an unladylike tangle of limbs and with a loud thud. Her elbow cracked sharply against the hard surface and she found herself seeing stars as she let loose an unintentional cry of pain.
‘Roni?’ Jake’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. ‘Are you okay?’
Groaning she took a deep breath, hauled herself off the floor and limped slowly to the door. He always seemed to have an unfortunate knack for being around when she was at her most ungraceful. As she swung the door open Jake stood watching her carefully. He had Olivia’s rather appealing puppy tucked under one arm, it’s blue leash dangling down to the floor. As soon as Beau saw her he scrambled against Jake trying to get to her, his tail wagging madly.
Jake’s gaze tracked slowly down her body, from her tank top and pajama pants to her bare feet and back up, until he met her eyes. She flushed under his intense appraisal. She thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, heat perhaps, but dismissed it. He didn’t see her like that, he only saw her as a kind of cute klutzy sister type. She really needed to stop obsessing about him she thought, as she took in his gorgeous face and blonde hair. It was starting to fall forward into his eyes a bit, he obviously needed a haircut and she found her fingers twitching slightly. Fighting the urge to reach out and push his hair back she swallowed and cleared her throat. It shouldn’t be awkward between them, over the past month or so they had settled into an easy friendship and she was finding lately that she enjoyed his company more and more. She didn’t want anything to change that, after all it wasn’t his fault she had a pathetic crush on him. She watched as his jaw clenched and his eyes involuntarily dipped to her chest again. It was only then she realized in horror that she wasn’t wearing a bra, dammit. Her face flushed pink and she automatically folded her arms over her chest.
‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ she muttered in mortification.
‘You called and left a message earlier,’ Jake explained after a moment.
‘Yes, but it was getting late so I assumed you’d just call me back tomorrow.’
‘Yeah,’ he replied ruefully, ‘sorry about that, I would have called you earlier. I got called out on an emergency, but…’ he held up a bag of takeout, ‘I brought dinner. If I know you, you’ve been so
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